Chapter 506: The Aftermath
Chapter 506: The Aftermath
“As I thought… It seems things have turned out just as I expected.”
It was early in the morning, before I’d even had breakfast.
I brought a hand to my chin and muttered with a rather serious expression.
What am I doing so early in the morning, you ask? Especially after a good night's sleep?
Wrong. I didn’t sleep. Last night, I was up all night with Sara… Anyway. There was a reason I was making such a serious face.
It was because as soon as I entered the dining hall for breakfast, Silvia had approached me, trembling with a pale face, and shouted.
“S-Sir Guwon! It’s terrible! Something terrible has happened!”
“Alright. Good morning. So, what’s the matter this early in the morning?”
“Ah! G-Good morning, sir! I-It’s… Felicia! Felicia’s lust…!”
“What, Silvia, you were making such a fuss over something like that?”
This is the girl who couldn't even get within ten meters of me after I kissed her yesterday. For her to suddenly rush up to me like this, I thought it must be something truly serious.
“I-It’s just…! Actually, for about a week now…!”
“…A week ago?”
In other words, you’re saying Felicia reached her limit a week ago, and she still hasn’t been able to relieve her pussyual urges?
“I-I’m sorry! In all the confusion, I was late in telling you!”
I see. A week ago was when I was shipwrecked.
So, when Silvia contacted Felicia about requesting the knight order and all that, Felicia must have mentioned that she was starting to have a hard time holding back.
And Silvia, only remembering that conversation now, is fidgeting with that pale expression on her face.
From my perspective, I think the situation is perfectly understandable, even with the delay in her message.
When I first got back, everyone was too busy being overjoyed to think straight. After that, Sara caused a commotion with her age regression, and then Silvia herself went through an event that nearly made her die of happiness.
But it seemed Silvia herself didn’t see it that way.
Well, thinking of her friend suffering in the palace, unable to relieve her desires, I guess it’s natural for her to be so anxious.
Felicia, you have a better friend than you deserve.
Anyway, after hearing all that, I also put on a slightly serious expression.
“…Well, she’s already held out for a week. One more day shouldn’t be a problem.”
After pretending to ponder for a moment with a serious face, I immediately dropped my hand from my chin and muttered nonchalantly.
The serious expression was a fake-out.
Silvia was so anxious that I just pretended to be a little serious for her sake.
“W-Whaaaaaat?!”
As Silvia shrieked in shock, her eyes as wide as they could possibly be at my conclusion, I placed a hand on her head and stroked her soft hair as if to reassure her.
Though, it only had the opposite effect, making her tremble even more violently.
“…Guwon. Even so, that’s…”
And Sara, who had entered the dining hall with me, seemed a bit dumbfounded by my answer, muttering with an indescribable expression.
Even Sara, who still dislikes Felicia despite having approved of our relationship, muttered like that. It seems my response was that absurd.
For the record, this was the same Sara who had been clinging to me right up until Vanessa came to get us. No, even after Vanessa arrived, she was stuck to my side until we left the room. But the moment we stepped out and were in the sight of others, she immediately reverted to her usual cool expression, didn't even link arms with me, and walked to the dining hall keeping a slight distance.
She doesn't usually keep this much distance, so it seemed she was a little embarrassed to be close to me, perhaps self-conscious about how clingy she'd been when no one was watching.
“No. I'm not just saying that off the cuff. Think about it. Of course, it would be best if I went and took care of it, but it's not like anything will happen to Felicia if I'm a day late, right? If she's really desperate, she can just call another man as a temporary measure to put out the fire. The bet we had is over now, after all.”
That's right. Even after we decided to have a regular relationship, I never told Felicia not to be with other men.
Well, there were several reasons, but the biggest one was for situations exactly like this.
I can't force a girl whose body constantly produces sexual desire—and who isn't even my woman—to only be with me. And there's no guarantee I'll always be able to get to her at the right time.
Anyway, for that reason, a whole week has passed since she said she could barely hold on.
This meant there was a chance Felicia had already relieved some of her urges with another man by now.
Being a day late won't be a problem.
Even after I said that, Silvia just stared at me with an anxious look.
No. Or is she just making that face because I'm still stroking her head and she's starting to have a hard time holding back?
“But you. Why are you trying so hard to delay going to the palace by a day? Is there some reason for it?”
And it wasn't just Silvia; even Diana posed a question, seeming unconvinced by my conclusion.
Of course, I couldn't understand why Diana would ask such a thing.
“What? What are you talking about? It's because of you.”
“Hm? Me?”
Even after hearing my answer, Diana tilted her head, not seeming to understand.
Honestly, for someone so smart, why can't she figure out something so simple?
“Yeah. I just got back after being away for so long. I can't be with Felicia before I'm with you, Diana.”
“Ah, ahh… S-So that’s what it was…”
At first, Diana had a blank expression, but as she gradually understood the meaning of my words, her face turned bright red. She looked down at the floor and muttered shyly.
“I’m the only one for you, right?”
“H-Hmph. As my husband, that kind of attitude is only natural.”
When I said it with a smile, Diana replied with a slightly prim expression, as if telling me not to get cocky.
She's so shy. Her long ears were completely red all the way to the tips.
“Eek!”
When I gently stroked one of her long ears, Diana let out a strange little sound and flinched.
But even so, she didn't try to pull my hand away.
And then, she said something unexpected.
“But I'll be fine. If that's the case, you should go to the palace today.”
“Huh?”
“It's fine. You and I have already… haven't we?”
Diana glanced around at the others, choosing her words carefully.
It seemed she was referring to the time I pounced on her in the bathroom.
“Hey. But that was…”
It wasn't time just for the two of us.
I was about to say that, but Diana rushed over and covered my mouth with both hands.
Apparently, she didn't want the others to know.
“I-It's fine! Think about why we allowed your relationship with the princess in the first place. We permitted it so you could help her. Wouldn't it be strange to ignore her when she needs help, only to have a relationship with her later? That would go against our intentions.”
“That… might be true, but…”
“Besides, the princess tried to dispatch a knight order from afar for you. Of course, the situation was resolved before they arrived, but you still need to go and officially thank her for the effort.”
Before I could say anything more, Diana spoke as if my trip to the palace today was already decided.
“Are you really okay? You're not forcing yourself when you don't want to, are you? No matter what, you're my top priority, Diana.”
But even after hearing that, I couldn't just accept it at face value.
Diana usually gives off the impression of being quite selfish and bratty, but when it really matters, she tends to act her age.
If she's just taking a step back now because of my public image or something like that…
“Honestly, you. Haven't I told you several times that it's fine? If you feel that sorry, then tonight…”
Her voice was too quiet for me to hear the rest, but I had a good idea of what Diana was about to say.
Right. I'll consider letting you have your way for once.
And so, after finishing my meal, I immediately prepared to go to the palace.
I had actually planned to seriously teach them how to swim underwater today, but that would have to be postponed.
It was a real shame I wouldn't get to see their breasts jiggling underwater, but it couldn't be helped.
It's fine. There'll be other chances.
It's not like I'm the only one skipping out; all the swimming instructors are.
They won't make any progress without me today.
That's right. Coincidentally, the group going to the palace included all three of the swimming instructors.
That would be Sara, who can't be more than a hundred meters away from me, and Vanessa, who had to drive the carriage to get us to the palace.
And as a bonus, Silvia, who was one of the students.
I suggested the others come along too, but they all refused for different reasons.
Diana refused, saying that if she came, it might seem like she was putting unnecessary pressure on the princess. Leia and Matilda said they were going to practice swimming on their own.
Actually, it seemed Silvia also wanted to stay and practice swimming, but she felt responsible for delaying the message about Felicia's condition and decided to come along to apologize in person.
In any case, we set off for the palace right after breakfast, but for some reason—maybe it was just my imagination—things felt chaotic as soon as we neared the palace gates.
How should I describe it? It was as if the soldiers, who were usually guarding the gates in an orderly fashion, had lost control. The air was thick with a sense of restlessness.
“…What on earth is going on? Silvia, do you know anything?”
“…Ngh… I-I don't know either…”
It seemed I wasn't the only one who felt it, as Sara also asked Silvia with a cautious expression.
Silvia herself, however, was in no state to think clearly, simply because she was sitting so close to me.
“I-It's the Saint! The Saint is here! Please, go in! Quickly!”
And as soon as our carriage reached the gatekeeper, he suddenly started shouting at the top of his lungs, as if he'd just found a ray of hope.
What the hell?
I only began to understand why everyone was in such an uproar after we entered the palace.
“Ngh…! Th-This is…!”
“Hngh…!”
“Ngh…!”
We were being led toward Felicia by a maid who was just as strangely restless as the soldiers outside, when suddenly Sara, Silvia, and Vanessa all flinched at the same time and looked at me.
“Wh-What is it? What's wrong?”
“…Guwon. You're not using a skill right now, are you?”
As I stood there bewildered, not knowing what was going on, Sara spoke up for the group and asked me that question.
“No. Not at all.”
“…You're not lying, are you?”
Even with my answer, Sara asked again, as if she couldn't accept it.
Her expression looked… not angry. No. It looked like she was suppressing something.
Putting her expression and her question together… did she feel like she'd been hit by one of my skills?
All three of them, at the same time?
“Of course not. Why would I lie about something like that? And why would I use a skill here in the first place?”
As I said that, I checked my own body.
Come to think of it, I did feel strangely aroused.
At first, I thought I was just feeling that way because I was about to be with Felicia, but seeing the reactions of the other three, I started to think that might not be the only reason.
Now that I mention it, I think I can smell a faint, sweet scent in the air…
“T-The princess's room is that way, turn right, and if you follow the hall, it's the room at the very end. I'm sorry. I can't go any further than this…”
And seeing the maid who had been guiding us say that while trembling, I began to grasp the situation.